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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. spring — the season
  4. bulb — for light
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. pit — a hole
  9. field — farmland
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pit — in a race
  13. game — wild animals
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. field — for sport
  23. game — a match
  24. field — a subject

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com